NHK has learned that the remains of people who were killed during fierce ground fighting in Japan's Okinawa Prefecture in the closing days of World War Two include those of dozens of women.

Japan's now-defunct Imperial military fought against US forces in the southwestern prefecture, in what is called the Battle of Okinawa. More than 200,000 people are known to have died, including soldiers and civilians. One in four Okinawa residents was killed.

The remains of more than 187,500 victims of the fighting have been discovered so far, but most have not yet been identified.

Japanese welfare ministry officials told NHK that they conducted DNA analysis on the remains of about 600 people in the six years through March 2023.

They said the research found that the remains include those of 46 women, including a child.

Osaka University's Graduate School Professor Kitamura Tsuyoshi, who studies the Battle of Okinawa, said the women whose remains were found at the battlefield were highly likely to have been local residents.

Kitamura said that even nearly 80 years after the fighting, most victims' identities and where they died remain unclear.

He added that the latest results of the DNA analysis will help shed more light on what happened during the battle.